Today’s Post is through the folks at Hamilton Beach sharing their 4-20 Cup Rice Cooker and Hot Cereal Maker. Intrigued with preparing other grains in addition to white or brown rice in a ‘rice cooker’ I opted to give the grains a try preparing a Rice Cooker Farro Salad, Arugula, Dried Cherries, Toasted Almonds, Goat Cheese.

The nice thing about grains is that you can easily whip up healthy dishes, not unlike combining a mix of ingredients for a pasta salad. Instead of arugula for instance, you could also use baby spinach, or any other dried fruit or nut that you might already have in your pantry. You could add other steamed or cooked fresh veggies and any bits of cheese you have on hand. Providing your ingredients work suitably together, it all works.

I was pleasantly surprised with the results of the Farro once cooked providing me with a batch of perfectly cooked grain to use in preparing today’s salad. I prepared a double batch, mainly for purposes of my own test kitchen product review matching the appliances volume capacity, storing the remainder to add to a nice ‘stick to the ribs’ soup tomorrow, especially since the current rain storms blowing off the tropical winds elsewhere have abruptly put our part of the east coast into a definitive fall has definitely arrived mindset.

Using an organic Italian pearled Farro conveniently now found at most markets which only requires a good rinse before cooking, whose task was easily performed using the interchangeable white plastic Rice Rinser/Steam Basket included with the Rice/Hot Cereal Cooker that can then be again rinsed out for dual use should you like to additionally steam some vegetables, or even fish in your cooking preparation.

Since I rarely (never) am preparing foods in one or two people quantities, naturally then, my consideration and thoughts are frequently geared to larger groups, even crowds, so I couldn’t help continuing to think of this Rice/Hot Cereal Cooker as a good appliance for events as the needed large pot of rice for example when hosting an International Ladies Party at my home, and further, for those families whose cultural dishes lend to large quantities of rice on a regular basis.

With its 4-20 cup capacity I was also inspired on how, with a convenient plug in area (we used to use the goalies storage area during our college field hockey matches) this appliance would certainly suit remarkably well for Tailgating, serving many diverse functions from simply scooping out of the cooker using the included plastic rice server spoon, or even simply transferring the hot contents onto a large serving tray for dressing with any among ingredient combinations along with dressings or sauces right on site. Heck, since it is also a Hot Cereal Cooker, early riser tailgaters smoking ribs or pigs could also enjoy a hearty breakfast spooning out some hot cereal alongside some honey or maple syrup.

I did find a couple challenges with the Rice/Hot Cooker including the recipe directions on the Grain Cooking Chart listing the Maximum Amounts of Grain to Maximum Amounts of Water and instead, since it is a 4-20 cup capacity appliance I would have liked to see a more thorough listing in the Rice Cooker Booklet from the 4 cup preparation on up, given that lots of folks generally prefer to look at their desired recipe amounts at a glance rather than figuring out the math. The inner cooking bowl has the liquid measuring lines in black making measuring a little more difficult as compared to a more visible white or grey line for easier measuring. You’ll also want to remember to detach the easily removable clear plastic condensation collector early on in clean-up which is a nice feature, though I forgot to do so and landed with water sprinkling over the floor following wiping the Rice Cooker down to its easy to restore, nice shiny stainless outer design.

Providing what matters most of all to me, consistent, properly cooked food I was pleased with the Rice Cooker preparation results, including my two meal option, but for today, beginning with some perfectly cooked Farro we have, Farro Salad, Arugula, Dried Cherries, Almonds, Goat Cheese.

In a small bowl whisk together the orange juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, coriander, and garam masala. In a large bowl fold together the farro with the almonds, dried cherries, arugula, and mint. Pour dressing over the Farro Salad and stir throughout. Check seasoning, adjusting salt to taste. Transfer salad to salad bowl or tray, top with crumbled goat cheese.

Hi Kelly! Congratulations on your new beginnings and best wishes, I know you are going to do great in your newest endeavor! The grain salad is terrific and will work out quite well as a quick, easy, and healthy assembly packed with lots of good flavors. Talk to you soon. Hugs.